Deadly Erasers? No problem High School? Oh crap
by XxXPeaceLoveDamiXxX
Summary: This is my first fanfic EVER so take it easy! Max and the flock are sent back to school after a year of chillin' at home. Oh, there will be drama. I mean, it IS high school. Oh, and FAXNESS galore
1. News

Max POV:

Crap! They were closing in, and fast. Ugly little suckers... they found my hiding place. I had to do something quickly before I got shot in the head. I pulled out my gun and started shooting as many as I could, while Fang was utilizing his chainsaw on Nudge and Gazzy...

They were persistent though, dodging his blows with ease. Fang was having trouble keeping them off his back, but they would stop at nothing to have us dead.

"NO! Fang!" I screamed. The Gasman had shot him down. "Dammit, I need you!"

Nudge laughed menacingly.

"Now that your little accomplice is finished off, I can finally deal with you! Say goodbye, Maximum Ride!" she said, just before shooting me several times.

"Noooo!" I shouted. She had killed me. My own flock-mate, practically my sister. What has the world come to?

"Yes!" she shouted. "We beat you! Again!"

"Total domination!" Gazzy exclaimed.

"Oh, save it." Fang said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, just because you're better than us at Gears Of War, doesn't mean I can't kick your butt in a real fight, missy." I said, trying to laugh off the fact that she and Gazzy had beat us yet again at this game.

"You're just jealous!" she retorted.

"Yeah, you're right, Nudge. I'm so jealous. I would just be careful, though. You play on the Locust team so much, you're kinda starting to look like one." I snickered at my own comeback. That is, until I had a face full of Nudge trying to get back at me for it. We rolled around on the floor, smacking each other with pillows, until Ella walked in announcing that it was time for dinner.

"We're having fried chicken tonight. I helped make it." she said proudly.

"Then I'm sure it'll be delicious." Iggy said, clearly flattering Ella. She made no attempt to hide her blush. Her little crush on Iggy was no secret around here. And I wasn't entirely sure if the feeling wasn't mutual. Iggy and Ella were kinda inseparable these days.

"Move over, I'm starving." Gazzy said, pushing his way through the crowd of bird-kids and one human girl. He was already sitting down, shoving his face when Nudge and I walked in. Iggy was piling his plate high with pretty much everything that resided in the fridge, and Fang was leaning against the counter, arms crossed, looking at the cabinets across from him, probably thinking about something deep and profound. Silent, as always... I sighed. Fang. My best friend, my right hand man. The Bert to my Ernie, the Starsky to my Hutch. But lately... I don't know. I've been feeling sort of... different about things. Okay so, yeah, I might have been starting to notice the fact that I'm living in the same house as an incredibly hot 15 year old boy, but I mean come on. I'm a 15 year old girl. What else am I supposed to think about? And it's not like it just hit me either. I've known he was attractive for a long time, it just wasn't brought to my attention exactly _how_ attractive he really is up until recently. Because when you're in the middle of a huge Eraser fight about 50 thousand feet in the air, how cute Fang looks while he's kicking Eraser butt isn't really the first thing that crosses my mind, ya know? But now that we've settled down a little bit, I've had time to notice some things. Like how his jet black hair brushes right above his chocolate brown eyes, or his tall, muscular frame, or how sexy he looks without his shirt on...

Just then, his eyes snapped up to me. Crap. He caught me staring... again. And of course my nerves couldn't behave for once in my life, so I started blushing. Perfect. Luckily, a dripping wet Angel walked through the back door, Total in heel, making for a nice distraction.

"How was your swim, honey?" I asked her, turning my back on Fang.

"It was great! We had so much fun, right Total? Having a lake in your own back yard is pretty awesome."

"Yes, so awesome." Total said, yet not sounding quite as enthused as Angel. Actually, he looked pretty miserable, trudging across the floor. I guess being wet was not his thing.

"Oh, wow, this chicken is SUPER good, Ella! I don't think I've had chicken this good since that place we went to a few months ago when we were flying from New York. Ya know, Max, the place, with the guys that dress up in in the chicken costumes to serve the food? That was so funny! Oh and they said they'd sing you a song if it was your birthday, so Iggy was all 'It's my birthday.' and so they started to sing this really cheesy-"

"Nudge. Breathe." I intercepted with. Jeesh, how can one little person talk so much?

"Oh, sorry..." she said sheepishly.

By then we were all sitting (and chowing) down, when my mom walked in.

"Hey guys." she said smiling.

"Hi Mrs. Martinez." the flock chorused.

"Hey mom." Ella and I said.

"Well, I was just on the phone with Jeb, and I have some news." she said carefully. Oh no. Not "news". News in our house was rarely ever good. She made sure she was smiling before she continued.

"We took our time contemplating whether or not this was the right choice for you guys, but seeing as you've been here for almost a year, and the new school year is starting... we decided it was time for you guys to go back to school. It's only for the best. We want you guys to have good futures and to try and live life a little more... normal. We love all of you very much, and we just want you all to be happy. I know you'll probably object in the beginning, (she looked directly at me when she said this) but I know it's what's best for you. All of you (again, with the looking)."

She sighed when she was finished, as if she had just gotten something big off of her chest. And in a way, she had. I mean, school? Didn't we try that already. And didn't it turn out to be an utter disaster? When I verbalized this point, I was drowned out with different variations of "That was totally different!" and "We were living with a psycho freak during that time!" Apparently I was only only one who actually objected to the fact that we were GOING BACK TO SCHOOL!

"Can I please be excused." I said rather than asked, and stalked my way to my room. I made sure I made a show of slamming my door before I flopped onto my bed, grabbed my pillow, and attempted to stifled my screams of aggravation with it. Ugh, School. This was a bad idea.


	2. The Mall

Fang POV 

I don't really see what the big deal is. I mean, sure we're going back to school, which kinda sucks, but I don't understand why she acts like it's the end of the world. But then again, there are a lot of things I don't understand about Max. Maybe that's why she's so intriguing to me. But whatever. Now's really not the time to be thinking about this, seeing as she's standing right in front of me, refusing to go into the Abercrombie & Fitch Nudge had lead her to.

"Just come on! You'll love some of the stuff they have in here, I promise!" Nudge tried to assure.

"No. I'm not going in there." she said firmly.

"And why not?" I asked silently from where I was standing.

"Because I don't need to go back-to-school shopping. Why would somebody who's not going back to school need to do that. Because I'm not. Going back to school, I mean."

"I know what you mean. But why?

"Why what?"

I sighed, frustrated. "Why don't you want to go back to school?"

"There are.. I don't know, too many bad memories." she shot back.

"Like what?" I asked, challenging her. Her face got really red, and she wouldn't look me in the eyes for a while.

"Just... just... oh, I don't need to explain myself to you!" she shouted. "Jeesh, what is this, 20 questions or something?" she muttered while stalking away into the store.

"Yay! You decided to come in!" Nudge exclaimed excitedly. Max just sulked. God, she is so stubborn. But that's one of the things I love about her.

Max POV

Ugh! What is his problem? Why does he feel the need to question me on the whole school issue? So I don't wanna go back, shoot me!

"Why don't you want to go back to school?" he asked, his eyes boring into mine in a way that was making me nervous.

"There are... I don't know, too many bad memories." I shot at him, thinking it would suffice. But I guess he was feeling particularly inquisitive today because he shot back with "Like what?"

And for some stupid, goddamn reason, my mind went straight to the Red-Haired Wonder. How I caught Fang kissing her in the hallway... that one day... at _school_... and I realized that, besides the fact that it's just plain annoying, that was actually the main reason I didn't want to go back. What if there was another Red-Haired Wonder at our new school? Or what if her hair was black this time? What if he finds another girl that he wants... and it's not me? My face suddenly got very hot, and I knew I was blushing. Big time.

"Just... just... oh, I don't need to explain myself to you!" I yelled at him, before storming of into the store Nudge was previously coaxing me into shopping at. "Jeesh, what is this, 20 questions or something?" I muttered.

"Yay! You decided to come in!" she said.

"Yeah, Yeah, just pick me out some clothes and let's go." I humphed, clearly not wanting to be here.

"Sweet! I can't wait to pick out some super cute outfits! Oh, I know just what would work on you. Maybe a faded, ripped jean, and a cute light blue-"

"Knock yourself out, kid." I said, cutting her off. She took this as an invitation to start shopping. I took it as an opportunity to find the nearest seat and plot my butt into it. Unfortunately, all the seats in the tiny lounge area were taken, I came to find. I sighed, really wanting a place I could just sit and wait this out without having to go back outside and see Fang again.

"Uhm, excuse me?" I heard a voice behind me say. I turned around to see a boy who looked to be about my age getting up from his seat. "You can take my seat... uhm, if you want." he offered.

"Oh, no that's okay, I'll be fine." I assured him, but he was persistent.

"Well, I'm about to leave anyway, so you can have it." He smiled at me for a second, and I realized he was really cute. He had light, chocolate-y brown hair, and the most amazing green eyes I'd ever seen. He was tall, but not as tall as Fang. Maybe only a couple inches taller than me. Very cute indeed.

"Are you new in town? I've never seen you here before." he asked.

"No, I just... don't really go out often. I've lived here for almost a year though." I said.

"What school do you go to?"

"I'm going to Bellwood High this year."

"Really? That's where I go." He smiled again, and my stomach did that funny little flippy thing it does whenever Fang smiles at me. Except this wasn't Fang. This was... well some guy I just met at the mall. A charming guy though. And a gentleman, too, for offering his seat in the first place. "My name's Conner." he said, holding out his hand. "And you are?"

"Max." I took his hand and shook it firmly.

"Well I hope to see you at school on Monday, Max. Maybe we'll have some classes together."

"Yeah, maybe-" I was cut off by an all too familiar voice.

"Max?" Fang said questioningly. He addressed me, but was looking straight at Conner. Glaring, was probably a better word. The he peered down at my hand... which was for some reason still in Conner's. I snatched it away quickly.

"Er, Conner, this is my friend, Fa-"

"Nick." Fang said, cutting me off once again. I'd almost forgotten. The rest of the flock had "school names."

"Hey, Nick." Conner said, not seeming to be bothered by the awkward tension that was forming. "Are you going to Bellwood too?"

"Yes." he said, once again glaring at Conner.

"Uh, Nick, what are you doing in here. I thought you were waiting outside." I said, trying to direct his attention to me before he shot a hole through Conner's head with his death stare. What was his deal?

"Tiffany talked me into coming in here to buy me some clothes. But we're leaving now. So let's go." He said, doing that boring thing with his eyes again. And once again it was making me nervous.

"Uhm, okay... well, bye Conner." I said, trying to keep calm.

"Yeah, see ya at school , Max... Nick." He said before Fang grabbed my hand and practically drug me out of the store.

"What was that all about?! You nearly killed the guy with your 'Glare of Death.'" I shouted at him. Nudge had finished paying, so we were heading outside to meet mom with the car. I tried explaining to her that that wasn't necessary. That we had "other" means of transportation. But she was stuck on the whole "normal" thing.

"I don't like the way he was looking at you." he said quietly.

"You don't... wait what?" I was taken aback.

"You heard me." He said, even more silently. I didn't know whether to be pissed or flattered. So I settled with annoyed.

"Well, I hope you're happy. He'll probably be scared to talk to me at school now because of you." I retorted. Fang only smirked, as if sharing some kind of internal joke. I sighed for the millionth time that day. Oh, Fang. Why do you irk me so?


	3. First Day Part 1

Hey guys!!! Alright so I know it's been FOREVER since I've updated, but I've just been so incredibly busy, you have no idea. But here it is, chapter 3, at long last. JSYK, it was 8 pages long on word, compared to the last two which were only 2 pages. That's alot for me :)  
BTW, i got the whole tying the wings up idea from another fic I read, but I can't for the life of me remember which one it was or who wrote it, so if you're the one who came up with it, just PM me and I'll give you all the credit :) sry if ur mad at me for stealing your idea, it was just to great not to!

* * *

Fang POV

Looking back on yesterday, I kinda have to laugh at myself. Why did I get jealous? Beats the hell outa me. But just think about it from my perspective for a second. I walk into this dimly lit, smelly, loud store that I already don't wanna be in, thinking about _her _as usual, I turn the corner, and there she is. Holding hands with this pansy looking prep guy standing way to close to her with a goofy smile on her face. Not a pretty picture, in my eyes, really.

"What was that all about?! You nearly killed the guy with your 'Glare of Death.'" she shouted at me after the scenario with Conner was over.

Conner. What a stupid name.

"I don't like the way he was looking at you." I replied truthfully. He kept staring at her with this stupid grin on his face. It was just annoying. She seemed taken aback.

"You don't... wait what?" Okay, so she was definitely taken aback.

"You heard me." I said quietly.

I saw a flurry of emotions cross her face before she finally just looked annoyed.

"Well, I hope you're happy. He'll probably be scared to talk to me at school now because of you." she said.

I just laughed, in my head of course. _That was the point, Max, _I thought.

* * *

Max POV

You know, sometimes I get the feeling that the whole world is conspiring against me. I, myself, am the biggest example to this statement. I mean, I'm a genetically engineered freak with wings. If that's not some kind of conspiracy, then I don't know what is.

And so now, because the world just decided one day "Hey! I've got an idea! Let's make Max Ride's life a living hell!" I got to wake up at six in the freaking morning today for my first day at Bellwood High. I swear, if I ever find the guy who decreed that school should start at 8 AM, he will be receiving a severe can of whoop-ass, compliments of me. After living with my mom for almost a year now, I had definitely become accustomed to sleeping in.

Anyway, after almost succeeding in destroying my alarm clock, (It startled me, okay? I'm not used to those obnoxious things.) I groggily arose from my bed and headed to the kitchen for some breakfast. Of course Mom was already up and at 'em, cooking what smelled like bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Yum.

"Good morning, sweetheart." she said cheerily, trying to make light of the fact that she was sending me to the last place I wanted to be that morning.

"Uhhnn." I replied, not in the mood to form coherent sentences.

"Morning, Max!" Nudge said as she bounded into the room. "Mmm, I smell bacon!"

"Help yourself, guys. And try to hurry up. You don't want to be late for your first day of school."

"Oh, I know, I can't wait! Max, I need your help picking out an outfit! I've narrowed it down to two choices."

"K, whatever." I said, as Ella and Angel walked in.

"Oooh, are those pancakes with strawberries?" Angel asked.

"You bet, sweetie." Mom replied. "Alright, so everything is ready to eat. You all dig in while I get ready for work." she said as she walked out of the room.

_-Max, are you okay? You don't look very happy. _I heard inside my head.

Angel. She has many, erm, special talents.

-_Yeah, I'm fine, honey. Just not so thrilled to be going back to school, is all._

_-Oh, I see. Well you're not the only one. Fang's not excited about going back either._

_-Why not?_

_-I don't know, something about you and this kid named Conner._

Right as she said this, he walked into the room. In his boxers. Just his boxers. Lets just say a few things crossed my mind at that moment, and we'll leave it at that.

-_Ew, Max, stop thinking those things about Fang!_

_-Well, if you'd get outa my head, you wouldn't have to hear them!_

That's the downside of having a seven year old mind reader in the house. She hears _everything._ But at least she keeps her mouth shut. And she's handy to have around with Fang, the silent one.

"What's for breakfast?" he said.

"Stuff." I replied.

"Well, thanks for elaborating."

"Anytime. And would it kill you to put a shirt on?"

He smirked. "It didn't seem to bother you a few seconds ago." he said quietly.

I could feel my face getting hot. I turned to glare at Angel, who was sitting ever so innocently at the table, eating her strawberry pancakes, obviously trying to avoid eye contact with me. I take back what I said about keeping her mouth shut.

"Yay, breakfast!" Gazzy shouted as he walked in, followed by Iggy.

"Hurry up and eat, guys. We leave in an hour." I said, trying to distract myself.

As soon as I sat down, I directed a thought to Angel.

-_We'll talk about this later. _She just smiled and kept eating. Its hard to stay mad at that kid, I swear.

I ate quickly, and hurried out of the kitchen before anyone else was done, and headed for my room to get dressed.

I opened my top drawer and pulled out a spool of string to tie my wings up. It was a trick we figured out a long time ago so that we wouldn't have to wear super baggy shirts in public anymore. If done right, it looks as though we're wingless.

After I was done tying, I went to my closet and retrieved the clothes that Nudge bought me at Abercrombie & Fitch. I promised her I'd wear them, unfortunately. At least they weren't so bad. Just a pair of jeans and a cute dark blue t-shirt. Nothing frilly or too girly looking. Although, the jeans were a little low cut, and the shirt was tighter than what I'd usually wear. I definitely looked more feminine than usual.

I decided to wear my hair down, with the thin blue headband Angel bought me a few weeks ago.

"It brings out your eyes!" she had said. I headed to the bathroom.

I was in the midst of brushing my teeth, when someone knocked on the door.

"I'm in here." I said, but it came out sounding kinda like "Om ih err" seeing as I had a mouth full of toothbrush.

"I know! It's me!" Nudge said. I opened the door to find her standing there with a little pink bag. One look at her face, and I knew what she was up to.

"No, Nudge. Absolutely not."

"Oh please please please, Max! PLEEEEESE let me do your makeup! I've gotten really good! I have the perfect eyeshadow that would totally bring out your pretty brown eyes and-"

"No! I don't wear makeup! You know that." I replied.

"But it's the first day of school! Don't you wanna look extra gorgeous?"

"Not really."

"Come on!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"FINE!"

I didn't feel like standing there arguing with her all morning, so I caved. It took all of five minutes, but it was some of the most excruciating five minutes of my life.

"Alright, you can look now!" she said after she was done.

Let me tell you, I don't scare easily. But just then, I was scared to death. I guess Nudge figured that out when I didn't turn around to look at myself in the mirror.

"I didn't do that much! Just some silvery blue eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara. You already have amazing skin, so you didn't need foundation." She said, although I honestly had no idea what she was talking about.

"You look amazing!" she said, and spun me around. I just stared at myself for about ten seconds.

"I look... weird." I finally said.

"No, just different. And very pretty." she retorted.

Well, to me I looked weird. My eyes looked brighter and wider and shimmery and I just looked plain girly. I sighed.

"I guess I don't look that bad." I said. Mostly to make her feel better, but it was kinda true. I looked okay.

All good feelings of how I looked drained from me, however, when I walked into the living room where everyone was sitting and waiting.

"Whoa! What happened to you!" Gazzy exclaimed.

"Oh, Max, you look so pretty!" Angel exclaimed.

"What? What did she do?" Iggy exclaimed.

"I got her to let me do her makeup!" Nudge exclaimed.

Hell, I half expected Fang to exclaim something too, but he didn't of course. He just looked at me. For a long time. I was starting to feel really self-conscious when he finally said something.

"You look... nice." he said.

"Thanks." I said, lowering my eyes to my feet. Shoes, I thought. I need shoes.

Grateful for an excuse to get out of there, I went back to my room to get my black converse that Ella had decorated for me. They were covered in light blue swirly clouds all over with beautiful silver wings drawn on the tips. Ella is quite the artist. They're my favorite pair of shoes.

Just as I had finished putting them on, Mom yelled "Time to go!"

Oh joy, I thought.

I took my time getting to the front door, grabbed my backpack off the floor, and stepped outside. It was a gorgeous day. _What, no rain? _I thought to myself. It definitely would have matched my gloomy mood.

_-Come, Max, cheer up! _

_-Angel, please stay out of my head. _

_-Sorry..._

"Everyone in the car!" Mom shouted. We all piled in the mini-van she had invested in after realizing there were seven kids living in her house. There was just enough room, if we squeezed Ella, Angel, Nudge and Gazzy together in the back. Fang and Iggy took the middle seats. I sat in the front with Mom.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road." Mom said, smiling as usual. She always seemed to have a smile on here face, no matter what was going on. That's just one of the things I love about her. When you're with her, everything just feels better.

Better, but not necessarily good. Because we were still going to school. Which undeniably sucks. A lot.

The trip was mostly silent, save for the occasional bickering coming from the very back, usually between Nudge and Gazzy. Since the high school was closest to the house, Mom dropped off Iggy, Fang, and me first. When we pulled up to the school, I was kind of shocked. It was so... small. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this. It just looked like a huge, brick house. There couldn't be more than 300 students there, tops. The only school like qualities it had was a sizable parking lot, a bus drop-off area, and a sign in the front that said **Bellwood High School: Home Of The Knights.**

Mom turned to me before I got out of the car.

"I know you don't want to be here," she said, "but just try to make the best of it, okay? Who knows? This time around, school might be fun for you."

"Thanks Mom, but I really doubt it." I said. She gave me a sympathetic look.

"Well, just be good and try to stay out of trouble. It'll be over in a few hours."

"Bye, Mom" I said, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Goodbye, sweetheart." she said to me. "Bye Fang! Bye Iggy!" she called out to the boys who were already out of the car.

I grabbed my backpack and stepped out of the car. Here we go, I thought. I gave a rueful look back at our car, that was now driving away.

"We need to go to the office and get our schedules." Iggy said.

"And that would be... where?" I asked.

"Somewhere in the school, I assume."

"Thanks for the helpful input, Ig."

"No problem." he said with a smile.

"Come on, guys." Fang said, serious as usual.

We were walking up to the school, when I heard a voice call my name. I turned to see who in the world it was, and low and behold, there was Conner walking up to us.

"Hey, Max. How goes it?"

"Uhm, you know." I said stupidly.

"Oh, well, uh, have you gotten your schedule yet?" he asked.

"No, but we were just headed to the office to get them. You remember Nick, right?" I said motioning at Fang, who was once again glaring. Conner nodded.

"Sup, man." he said. Fang just did one of those acknowledging head nod things.

"And this is uh..." Damn, what was Iggy's name again?

"Jeff." Iggy said, saving me.

"Are they your brothers?" he asked me while eying Fang. He'd obviously caught on to the fact that "Nick" didn't like it when he talked to me.

"No." Fang said before I could say anything.

"Oh... well uhm, I could show you guys where the office is, if you don't know. I know it's your first day here." he said.

"Sure, that be great." I said smiling.

When we entered the school, I could feel everyone's eyes on us. I guess in a small school, its a big deal when there are new people. Several guys smiled at me, most of which I ignored. I did note that several girls smiled at Fang as well, which I'll grudgingly admit, made me kinda jealous.

"Here it is." Conner said, and pointed to the door. "I've gotta get to homeroom. I'll probably see you in a class. It's a pretty small school." he said.

"Okay, bye Conner." I said.

"See ya, Max." he said with an adorable smile. "Bye Jeff... Nick." he said before walking away.

We stepped into the office, if you could call it that. It was so tiny, it felt crowded when just the three of us walked in.

"Hello! You must be the new students! We've been expecting you." an old lady in a bright pink shirt behind the desk said to us. Great. We were _expected_.

"Max, Jeff, and uhh... Nick isn't it?" she said while sifting through some papers.

"Yes. That's us." I said, walking up to the desk.

"Well here are your schedules." she said handing each of us a slip of paper. "And you'll be receiving your books in class. My name is Mrs. Shirley, and if you have any questions during the day, please don't hesitate to ask." she said cheerily.

"Uhm, thanks." I said, before turning to walk out.

"What's my schedule say?" Iggy asked as soon as we were out of the office.

"Well..." I perused his schedule for a moment. "It looks like you're in all my classes. Probably on purpose. I guess Mom told them you're blind."

"Oh joy, all my classes with you." he said sarcastically, and I punched him in the arm.

"What about you, Fang?" I asked and he handed me his schedule.

"We have... three classes together. And lunch. Oh, and it looks like we all have the same homeroom too." I said.

"Hmm." was his reply to that. Because, you know, it would just kill him to actually talk more.

Of course, everyone was still staring at us as we made our way to homeroom. I even turned around once to check one of my wings was, like, showing or something, but they weren't.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Fang bent down to say in my ear. I chuckled.

"I guess we're just that interesting." I said.

"What, is everyone staring at us or something?" Iggy said loudly, and everyone looked away.

"Nice." said Fang.

"Glad to help." Ig said smiling.

I guess we made it to homeroom just in time, because as soon as we walked in, the bell rang. Everyone scrambled for a seat, so the only one's left were dispersed throughout the room. Fang took the seat in the back left corner and Iggy took the one up front. So that left me with the one in the very middle. I sat down and hoped everyone would keep their mouths shut. I wasn't in the mood for making new friends. But since when have _my_ hopes ever been fulfilled?

"Hi. You must be the new girl Max." said a warm, friendly voice. I turned to my left where the voice came from. An extremely pretty girl with dark brown hair and light blue eyes was staring right at me. She had the most perfect bone structure and amazing skin. I felt like I was staring at the cover of a magazine. She was the kind of girl you look at and automatically feel inadequate. Yeah, that gorgeous.

"Uh, hey. Yeah, that's me." I said.

"Welcome to Bellwood." She said with a beautiful smile. "My name's Serena."

I just smiled back, and turned away. She wasn't done with me though.

"So what classes do you have?" she asked. I reached for my backpack and grabbed my schedule.

"Math, Spanish, Lit, Chemistry, Art, Lunch, and World History." I said quickly.

"Who's your Chemistry teacher?" she asked.

"Uhm... Hendricks." I replied.

"Cool, we have Chem together." she said smiling.

"Yeah, cool." I said, with a little less enthusiasm.

"So, uhm... who's your friend over there?" she asked, discreetly pointing at Fang.

Great, I thought. He hasn't been here for twenty minutes and girls were already asking about him.

"That's Nick." I said looking ahead.

"And is he your brother, cousin... boyfriend?" she asked.

"No. He's just a friend." I said, trying to keep my cool around this chick. She was starting to piss me off.

"So he's available?" she said eagerly. Okay, now she was really pissing me off.

"No!" I sad a little too loudly. Fang looked over at me with a questioning look. Then he looked at Serena. Apparently she was looking at him too, so she smiled at him. And he smiled back.

If I ever wanted to punch somebody really hard in my life, it was right then. In fact, there were a few more unpleasant things I would have like to do to have done to Serena, but we'll just stop at punching, okay? Besides, all he did was smile at her. That doesn't mean anything, right? He was probably just trying to be polite.

And that's what I told myself all throughout homeroom, not even listening to the teacher as he called role.

"Max... Max? Is Max Ride here?" the teacher said. Serena nudged be a bit. I turned to glare at her, when the teacher called my name again.

"Oh, sorry. Uhm, I'm here." I said, embarrassed. I could see Fang smirking out of the corner of my eye. It's going to be a very long day, I thought.

* * *

Fang POV

First and second period pretty much flew by. It's not like I was paying any attention anyway. I wasn't holding out much hope for third period on the interesting meter, either. I walked in and sat down in the back. I wasn't paying any attention to who I was sitting next to, nor did I care, until I heard a voice address me.

"It's Nick, right?"

I turned to see who it was and what she wanted. I wasn't in the mood for talking.

"Yeah." I said. It was that girl from homeroom. The one that smiled at me and that I smiled back at. Just to be polite, of course. I mean, she was pretty and all, but she had nothing on Max.

"I'm Serena. I met your friend Max in homeroom."

"Huh." I replied.

"Do you guys live together?"

"Yep."

"But you're not related."

"Nope."

"And your parents are okay with that?"

I turned to face her. "I don't have parents." I said seriously.

"Oh, uh... I'm really sorry, I... I just... sorry." she looked embarrassed, so I softened my expression.

"It's okay." I told her, and she smiled.

"No, it's not. I have a bad habit of jumping to conclusions. But I know what it's like to not have parents. Mine died when I was seven, so I live with my grandparents." she said. I felt kinda sorry for her, but then I looked back on my life and realized she had it good. At least she had parents and knew who they were. I was raised in a cage, until Jeb came along. Even he was kinda psycho, though. But I guess it was kinda sweet how she was trying to relate to me. Even though she really couldn't. I turned to say something to her, but she had the weirdest look on her face. Like a mix of surprise, confusion, and kinda offended. She quickly wiped the complicated look off her face when I turned to her, though.

"So how are you liking Bellwood so far?" she asked.

"It's alright." I told her.

"You know, you're kinda quiet." she said.

"I've been told." I replied with a smirk.

"So you and Max... are you guys like, together? I mean she said you weren't, but she got all defensive when I asked if you were available."

"Uh, no. We're not together." I said looking ahead. Unfortunately, I thought.

She sighed. "But you want to be."

"Says who?" Can she like, read my mind or something?

"Uhm... I just guessed." she said quickly. "Besides, it's not like she keeps it a secret." she said passively.

"Keeps what a secret?" I asked, confused.

"That she likes you. I mean, come on. I'm not stupid. She gets all tense when I ask about you and practically screams at me that you're not available. If that's not obvious, then I don't know what is."

I just stared at her.

"And you gathered this from a two minute conversation." I said finally.

"What can I say." she said looking right at me. "I'm just good at reading people."

"Right." I said. This girl was kinda freaky. But who am I to talk about being a freak. I'm a 15 year old kid with wings. That's pretty much as freaky as it gets.

I could feel Serena's eyes on me, and I turned to ask what she wanted. She had that look on her face again. You know, the complicated one?

"Are you okay?" I asked her. She just kept looking at me.

"Uhm, yeah. Sorry... I was just spacing out, I guess..." she finally said.

"So, uh... what class do you have next?" she asked.

"Chemistry with Hendricks." I replied after checking my schedule.

"Really? Same here. So does Max." she said

"Yeah, I know." Max and I had Chem, Art, and World History together.

I decided at this time to actually tune in to what the teacher was saying. She was going through the lesson plan for the year. Apparently this was math class. Algebra 2. Once again I could see Serena staring at me out of the corner of my eye. She wasn't looking at my face, but at my... back? Were my wings showing or something? I turned around to check, but nothing looked out of the ordinary.

"Is something wrong?" I asked her.

"No..." she said, still staring at my back. Then she looked at my face, questioningly, like she was trying to figure something out.

"What?" I asked, a little weirded out. Then she snapped out of it.

"So who do you live with?" she asked.

"Max's parents." I replied.

"Do you have any siblings?"

"Not in the real sense of the word." I said, thinking about Max, Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, Nudge, and Ella.

"So is it like a... foster home?"

"No, not really."

"How many kids live with you?"

"Six."

"And do they all have-" she stopped herself, looking embarrassed. God, this chick was weird.

"Uhm, never mind." she said  
"Are you done interrogating me?" I asked with a smirk.

"No." she said smiling. "So you live in a house with six other kids. Wow. What's it like?"

"Crowded." I said. She chuckled.

"So you, Max, and Iggy are the same age? How old are the others?" she asked.

"Well, Angel is seven, Tiffany is-" Wait, whoa. I stopped, realizing something. How did she know his name was Iggy? At school, his name was Jeff. Alright, now this girl was really starting to freak me out. But just then, the bell rang, and she rushed out of the classroom.

"Wait! How did you know-"

"See ya next period!" she quickly cut me off as she was racing out of the door, leaving me speechless and confused. Which doesn't happen that often. This girl had some serious explaining to do.

* * *

Max POV

School officially sucks. I thought it did before, but no. This is ridiculous. If it wasn't for Iggy, I'd probably jump out of a window.

And before you go thinking I'm suicidal or anything, I have wings, remember?

So I walk into fourth period with Ig and find Fang sitting at a long black table... with Serena. Apparently in deep conversation with her too. Luckily the desks fit three people, so I plopped myself right next to Fang. Iggy sat at the table behind us.

"'Sup buddy?" I said loudly, interrupting their conversation.

"Can I help you?" he said. Ugh, the nerve of him sometimes.

"Hey, Max." Serena said, cheerily.

"Hi." I said flatly. "So what are you guys talking about?" I asked, like I was actually interested.

"Nothing." Serena said quickly. I just glared at her. Then I heard someone call my name.

"Max! Hey." said Conner, as he walked into the room and sat next to Iggy.

"Hey Conner." I said with a flirtatious smile. If Fang wants to flirt with other girls, then I should be able to flirt with other guys, right?

"So how's Bellwood treating you?" he asked.

"Better, now that you're in one of my classes." I said. Okay, so maybe I overdid it a little. But it was worth it. I could feel Fang's glare without even looking at him.

Conner just chuckled. "I see you've met my cousin, Serena." he said.

Whoa, his cousin? Small world.

"Yeah, she's in my homeroom." I said, faking a smile at her. She just stared at me with an offended look on her face. What does she have to be offended about. She's the one hanging all over my man.

Wait, did I just say that? Forget I said that. It never happened, okay? Glad you get it.

"So how do you know Conner?" she asked, still looking a little offended.

"I met him at the mall." I said, not wanting to talk to her. Like, at all.

"Oh." is all she said, as if she got the hint. Then she turned back to Iggy.

"So, uh, Jeff, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yep."

"And you're blind?" she just straight up asked. Normally people would avoid the subject, not wanting to offend him.

"Yep." he said, again.

"What's it like?" she asked.

"Well, try living life with your eyes closed for about a week, and you'll know." he said, and she laughed.

"OKAY CLASS, QUIET DOWN!" boomed a voice at he front of the room. "My name is Coach Waters, and I'm your Chemistry teacher. I'll just let you know right now, I don't tolerate talking during my class, like some other teachers. You will speak only when spoken to. Understand?"

There was a murmur of yeses throughout the classroom. Chem teacher? More like drill sergeant.

The rest of the class was immensely boring, considering the fact that we weren't allowed to talk. Occasionally I would sneak glances at Fang, whom I caught several times sneaking glances at Serena. Which made me really mad. Why am I such a jealous person? I'll never know the answer to that.

By the end of the period, I was practically asleep, so when the bell rang, it startled me. I saw Fang turn to Serena to say something, but she was already half way across the classroom.

"See you guys tomorrow!" she yelled on her way out. I turned to Fang to question him, but he was staring after her with a confused look on his face. Which is weird, because Fang usually never betrays emotion in his face. Ever.

"Bye Max." I heard Conner say, so I turned around.

"Bye." I said and smiled.

"C'mon, guys. We got art next. Which is great, you know, for me. It's not like I can't see or anything." Iggy said sarcastically. I just sighed. I had officially made it through the first half of my first day of school.

Only 179 and a half more days to go.

* * *

I'll try not to take as long with Chpt 4, I promise! And I'm sure you can already guess what's up with Serena, but you'll have to wait till the next chappie for the whole scoop :D

~Dami


	4. First Day Part 2

Fang POV

I had to find out what was up with this Serena chick. It's like she could read my mind or something. That, or she was working for some kind of psycho who wants us dead and was spying on us. Hey, it probably sounds far-fetched to you, but in my world, it happens all the time.

I tried to get her to talk in Chemistry, but she kept changing the subject. Then Max barged in as soon as it looked like I might have gotten some answers. And what was up with this meat head coach for a teacher? No talking? What, you afraid you might have to discipline a couple of high school sophomores? Yeah, I could tell this class was gonna be a load of fun.

I thought I was gonna explode from all the freaking tension forming between Serena and me, when the bell finally rang.

I turned to Serena to confront her again, but she was already bolting out of the room.

"See you guys tomorrow!" she yelled back. I just stared after her, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I needed answers.

And I knew just where to get them.

Max POV

Alright, it's official.

I **HATE** art. With a passion. I mean, it's only the first day of school, and our fruity art teacher lays down a piece of paper in front of us and tells us to draw what we think art is. What am I supposed to do with that? I don't know what art is. I suck at drawing.

So I'm just sitting there, staring at my paper, while everyone else is drawing their rendition of art, when Ms. Higgens (said fruity art teacher) walks up to my table and says, "Ms. Ride? What seems to be the problem?"

"Uhm... nothing." I reply.

"Then why aren't you drawing?"

"Because I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I can't draw." She really know how to get on someone's nerves, doesn't she.

"Of course you can."

"No, I can't. I suck at drawing."

"But that doesn't mean you can't draw, now does it?" she said, and walked away.

I glanced across the table at Fang, who was smirking slightly.

"Okay, if you think my lack of talent is so funny, let's see your masterpiece!" I said to him. He pushed his paper over to me, and I mentally gasped.

It was... me. Sitting at the desk looking at my piece of paper, like I was just doing. It was really good too. The boy had some talent. I looked up at him.

"You drew me?" I asked, kind of shocked and flattered at the same time. He shrugged.

"You were just sitting there, so why not." he replied. "Besides... who said art had to look good anyway." he said with a smirk.

"What?! You are such a jerk!" I yelled, and reached across the table to punch him. Then I remembered we were in a classroom and sat back down. Later, I thought, and glared at him.

"Calm down." he said. "I was joking." Yeah, whatever. I was still gonna kick his butt when we got home.

After sitting there for a couple more minutes, I decided something was better than nothing, so I drew a stick figure on my paper. An awesome stick figure, if I do say so myself. Then he looked kind of lonely, so I drew him a stick figure dog. Then a car. And of course, my stick figure needed somewhere to live, so I drew him a house. Pretty soon, I had a whole stick town for my little stick dude. Oh, and I named him Carl.

Yeah, I was bored, shut up.

"See, Max. You can draw." I jumped at the sound of a voice addressing me. Whoa! Where the hell did she come from? I looked up to see Ms. Higgens standing over me, examining my stick town. "You seem to have an apt for, erm, stick drawings, I see." she said and walked away again.

"Nice stick man." Fang said, eying my paper.

"His name is Carl." I said defensively. Fang just looked at me as if to say "okaaaay...". Then the bell rang.

Thank God.

Fang POV

After art was over, I set out to find Serena. I started with the cafeteria, since I had lunch that period, but she wasn't there. So I went to the Office.

"Hello, young man. May I help you." said the lady when I walked in. It wasn't the same one that was there this morning.

"Yeah, uhm, I need to know what class one of my friends is in right now."

"Alright, can you give me his name?"

"Her name. It's Serena."

"Serena Who?"

"Uhh... I don't know... but she's a sophomore." How many Serena's could there be in the sophomore class?

"Well, there's only one sophomore named Serena. Serena Natrass. She's in room 120 right now."

"Alright, thanks."

"No problem." she said as I was walking out.

I found room 120 easily. It was right around the corner. I knocked on the door a couple times and the teacher answered the door.

"Yes? Do you need something?" she asked.

"Yeah, I need to talk to Serena. It'll only take a second."

"Alright, hold on." she walked back into the room. I waited for a few seconds and Serena walked out. Her eyes widened when she saw me.

"Nick! What are you doing here?" she asked nervously.

"I wanted to ask you something." I replied. She looked really nervous at first, but relaxed after a moment.

"Alright, what is it?"

"Would you like to come to my house for dinner tonight?" I asked quickly, before I could change my mind.

"I'd love to." she said with a smile. "But, uhm, is it okay if Conner comes too? Since we kind of live together..." she asked warily, as if she knew how I'd feel about it. I had half the mind to say no, but I really needed this to happen. I needed answers.

"Yeah, I guess." I said.

"Okay, so what time should we be there?"

"Seven." I said and handed her a slip of paper. "Here's my address."

"Thanks." she said. "I should probably get back to class. See you tonight F-" she paused. "Uhh, Nick!" she said quickly. "Bye!" she said as she shut the door behind her.

There is definitely something up with her. And tonight I was gonna find out what.

I headed back to the cafeteria and found Max and Iggy sitting at a table in the back.

"Where have you been?" Max asked immediately after I sat down.

"I had to talk to someone." I replied.

"Who?" she asked.

"Nobody. Where's our lunch money?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Here." she said handing me a five dollar bill. "We each got five bucks for lunch, but uhh..." she glanced at some kids tray at the table next to us. "I think I'm gonna wait until we get home to eat." she said. I had to agree. The lunch looked like it was fresh.

Fresh out of someone else's stomach.

"What does it look like?" Ig asked.

"Barf." Max and I both said at the same time. Then we chuckled. It's like our brains are on the same wave sometimes.

"Alright, I second Max's motion to eat at home then. Maybe we could go out to dinner?" Iggy said.

"No." I said a little too quickly. Max narrowed her eyes at me.

"Why not? There's a new pizza place down the street." she said, challenging me to disagree with her.

"Because we uhh... we're having guests over for dinner tonight." I said.

"What? Who? It's the first day of school! And since when are you the king of all things social?" she yelled. Why was she in such a bad mood today?

"I invited Serena to dinner tonight." I looked her straight in the eye and said. Once again I saw many emotions flurry across her face until it landed on pissed off.

"Serena?" She said with mock calmness. "Oh you mean the girl you've been throwing yourself all over since we got here today?" she leaned forward to glare at me.

"Does that bother you?" I leaned even closer and said. Then we stared at each other for a good five seconds, our faces just inches apart.

"Alright, WAYYY too much tension at this table right now." Iggy finally said, breaking up our little staring contest. Max just crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, staring at something on the other side of the cafeteria.

"Besides," I said, looking back at Max. "Conner will be there too. So you shouldn't have much to complain about." She just looked at me, her face expressionless, stood up, grabbed her bags and walked away.

Oh yeah, Fang. Way to go, lady killer.

Max POV

I couldn't believe it. Fang had actually found another girl. And it was only the first frickin day of school! But she must've really done something for him, considering the fact that he's already invited her over for dinner tonight. Well, Conner too, but still. He probably had no choice but to invite him too because they're cousins.

And so now I'm sitting here in what could possibly be the most boring class ever with nothing else to do but think about how Fang has already found a girl.

But why should that bother me? I mean, I'm the one who always runs away whenever he tries to make a move. But it's not because I don't like him. Hell, I could even venture as far as to say that I'm in love with him. It's because I'm scared. We've been such good friends all these years, and if we actually get together and it doesn't work out, then what? Not only have I lost my best friend, but just think about what that could do to the flock. I know I have, and it's not a pretty picture. We've already split up once and you bet your ass its never happening again. I'd rather fight off a million disgusting Erasers than have to go through that again. In fact, I rather fight off a million disgusting Erasers than even be here right now in this stupid high school.

Yeah, I know right. Deadly Erasers? No problem. High school? Oh crap. You can see how my brain probably doesn't run on the same wave as most other teenagers around the world.

Luckily, the bell rang just then. It was finally time to go home. That was a comforting fact, up until the point where I remembered what exactly was supposed to be going down tonight. Dinner. With Serena.

Boy, this is gonna be a fun night.

Not.


End file.
